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Tag Scott Walker
Tail Feathers: A quick look at the news
First the good news: According to Newsmax John McCain has said he will not seek the Republican nomination for president again. Did I miss something? Has anyone asked Johnny boy to run again? If I recall correctly there were not too many enamored with his first go around. So who is it exactly that wants John McCain to run for President again? ANYONE? Raise your hand if you want Ol’ Johnny to run for President….
McCain: I Won’t Run for President Again
Arizona Sen. John McCain says he will not seek the Republican nomination for president again. “Oh, I’m too . . . I’m afraid it’s not a viable option,” McCain, 77, said Monday on Fox Business Network‘s “Cavuto.” He is, however, “seriously considering” another run for his Senate seat, which he’s held since 1987.
Now for the bad news John is thinking about running for the Senate again. How about we all throw you a nice retirement party instead? I’ll bring the cupcakes.
From the DO AS I SAY but not as I do department:
Senator: CIA Inappropriately Perused Documents on Secure Computer Network
In an effort to promote transparency and accountability, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) provided “secure” computers to congressional staffers on the Senate Intelligence Committee to investigate the agency’s detention and interrogation program established in the post-9/11 era.
Townhall
You see folks it is only okay for the government to spy on you, we are never allowed to take a peek to see what these folks are up to. So what is good for the goose is not good for the gander apparently.
Remember how Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was vilified from his budget proposals? Well guess what they actually worked.
Surplus: Wisconsin Legislature Passes Walker Tax Cuts Package
Why, it’s almost as if responsible, conservative governance works: Wisconsin will sell $294.8 million in general-obligation refunding bonds this week in a negotiated sale as the state projects a budget surplus of almost $1 billion. Surging tax revenue is driving improved fiscal performance in Wisconsin, with a population of 5.7 million.
The democrats where up in arms I believe not so much that they thought the plans would fail but that they knew they would actually work and this is what they were terrified of. Once the people realized that taxing and spending, and big labor union contracts was damaging to their economic futures Wisconsin’s would abandon the labor unions and the democrat party policies. And they were right about that.
From the “while you were sleeping department”
While most of us where sleeping or otherwise engaged in meaningful pursuits, a number of democrats took to the floor of the house to talk about ‘Climate Change”. They are so desperate to get the country to believe in this fallacy that they thought an all-night gabfest would bolster their position.
With real climate change legislation all but dead in Congress, the senators involved in Monday’s climate-fest just want to get to a point where lawmakers can agree that climate change is a scientific fact.
Senate Dem’s stage climate all-nighter | TheHill
2 days ago … Senate Democrats want lawmakers to agree that climate change is a scientific fact. … will be among those participating in the talk-a-thon on the Senate … senators signed up for the all-night climate-fest, but Democrats hope to …
Well you have to admire their tenacity to insist that the globe is warming while most of the United States has been in the deep freeze since the start of the year. Not to be deterred however, these brave souls soldiered on to persuade America that the SCIENCE is settled, Climate Change is for real.
But when it comes to REAL SCIENCE, federal agencies are not above fudging the numbers a bit to [prove their points] even going so far as to making stuff up to further their agendas.
The last story for this week is federal bureaucrats could bring the U.S. Energy boom to a screeching halt by using 2 chickens the Sage Grouse and the Prairie Chicken.
Federal officials often use flawed or falsified results to support decisions to expand the endangered species list, according to a recently published congressional working group report.
“Many reports and studies used to justify ESA decisions have been found to have mathematical errors, missing data, errors of omission, biased sampling, undocumented methods, simulated data in place of more accurate empirical data, discrepancies between reported results and data, inaccurate mapping, selective use of data, subjective interpretation of results, fabricated data substituted for missing data, and even no data at all,” the Washington Examiner reported in a Feb. 3 news story.
How two chickens and federal bureaucrats could bring the U.S. energy boom to a screeching halt
Federal officials often use flawed or falsified data to support decisions to expand the endangered species list, according to a recently published congressional working group report.
So how does two species of chickens halt the energy boom? Because inclusion of two of the species involved — the Sage Grouse and Prairie Chicken, both found predominantly in western states, including Texas and the Dakotas — could halt the U.S. energy boom in its tracks.
Why? Because putting the birds on the endangered species list empowers federal bureaucrats to limit use of millions of acres of privately owned lands, thus effectively taking them out of energy exploration and development. In other words the feds come and take control of private property.
Tell me again how BIG GOVERNMENT is for the “working man?”
There you have it folks this week’s edition of Tail Feathers, a quick take of news that caught the eagle eye. Until next time. Safe journeys.
Related articles
Wisconsin School Proves Walker’s Policies Actually Work
The sky will fall, Armageddon was sure to come, the end was near, this will be a disaster for our schools and our children, where the doomsday cries of those who opposed Scott Walker’s reforms in Wisconsin. All this was before the law was passed and enacted. Before ink was put to paper, before democrats returned from MIA status to block the bill’s passage. All these negative reports came fast and furious in an attempt to overturn the voter’s will in Wisconsin. Well now that the law is actually passed and enacted at least one school district in Wisconsin is raving about the positive impact the new legislation has had on their bottom line. At least for the Kaukauna School District the new law was the salvation needed. In other words the UNION THUGS along with the Democrats LIED to the voters.
Could it be the changes enacted in Wisconsin will actually work in other districts across the country? They can and they will, this is why the unions and the democrats who are bought and paid for by the unions fight so hard for education reform.
Amplify’d from washingtonexaminer.com
The Kaukauna School District, in the Fox River Valley of Wisconsin near Appleton, has about 4,200 students and about 400 employees. It has struggled in recent times and this year faced a deficit of $400,000. But after the law went into effect, at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, school officials put in place new policies they estimate will turn that $400,000 deficit into a $1.5 million surplus. And it’s all because of the very provisions that union leaders predicted would be disastrous.
In the past, teachers and other staff at Kaukauna were required to pay 10 percent of the cost of their health insurance coverage and none of their pension costs. Now, they’ll pay 12.6 percent of the cost of their coverage (still well below rates in much of the private sector) and also contribute 5.8 percent of salary to their pensions. The changes will save the school board an estimated $1.2 million this year, according to board President Todd Arnoldussen.
“The monetary part of it is not the entire issue,” says Arnoldussen, a political independent who won a spot on the board in a nonpartisan election. Indeed, some of the most important improvements in Kaukauna’s outlook are because of the new limits on collective bargaining.
In the past, Kaukauna’s agreement with the teachers union required the school district to purchase health insurance coverage from something called WEA Trust — a company created by the Wisconsin teachers union. “It was in the collective bargaining agreement that we could only negotiate with them,” says Arnoldussen. “Well, you know what happens when you can only negotiate with one vendor.” This year, WEA Trust told Kaukauna that it would face a significant increase in premiums.
Now, the collective bargaining agreement is gone, and the school district is free to shop around for coverage. And all of a sudden, WEA Trust has changed its position. “With these changes, the schools could go out for bids, and lo and behold, WEA Trust said, ‘We can match the lowest bid,'” says Republican state Rep. Jim Steineke, who represents the area and supports the Walker changes. At least for the moment, Kaukauna is staying with WEA Trust, but saving substantial amounts of money.
Then there are work rules. “In the collective bargaining agreement, high school teachers only had to teach five periods a day, out of seven,” says Arnoldussen. “Now, they’re going to teach six.” In addition, the collective bargaining agreement specified that teachers had to be in the school 37 1/2 hours a week. Now, it will be 40 hours.
The changes mean Kaukauna can reduce the size of its classes — from 31 students to 26 students in high school and from 26 students to 23 students in elementary school. In addition, there will be more teacher time for one-on-one sessions with troubled students. Those changes would not have been possible without the much-maligned changes in collective bargaining.
Teachers’ salaries will stay “relatively the same,” Arnoldussen says, except for higher pension and health care payments. (The top salary is around $80,000 per year, with about $35,000 in additional benefits, for 184 days of work per year — summers off.) Finally, the money saved will be used to hire a few more teachers and institute merit pay.
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a16dgs
